HH Donald Cryan (Hon) LL.D., Visiting Prof in Law, Goldsmiths University of London
Students applying to Goldsmiths’ 2019-20 LLB Law programme had the unique opportunity to meet one of our newly appointed visiting professors, His Honour Donald Cryan (Hon) LL.D., during ‘applicants day’ on January 26th.
Judge Cryan gave an overview of various aspects of legal practice and the importance of the work of the Family Courts.
Judge Cryan has for many years been a senior Family Court judge and a Deputy High Court Judge in the Family Division of the High Court. He has also held the prestigious position of Head (Treasurer) of the Inner Temple, one of the four Inns of Court. Judge Cryan is adding to Goldsmiths’ LLB programme outstanding expertise in family law and arbitration in family law disputes, a longstanding commitment to access to the Bar for students from under-represented backgrounds and a unique insight of skills central to the legal profession.
In a highly engaging Q & A with the students, Judge Cryan emphasised that the legal profession was nowadays open to all comers provided they had the necessary commitment and ability. Very substantial scholarships are available through each of the Inns of Court for those wishing to come to the Bar. Speaking about becoming a barrister, the area where he could speak with most authority, he stressed that the Inns of Court had made great efforts to achieve diversity and inclusivity. He was proud of the work of the Inner Temple, which had been recognised by the Sutton Trust and others for its achievement in this area.
Judge Cryan spoke of the vital importance of Family Law and the work of the Family Courts. He stressed that the popular image of the Family Courts dealing primarily with divorce and its fallout was wrong. Whilst that important work still features significantly in the Court’s work, there are many other equally or more serious aspects of its work. He gave examples such as preventing domestic violence; international child abduction and the application of the Hague Convention; preventing forced marriages; granting leave to remove children from the jurisdiction with the risk of that splitting families. He also spoke from his extensive experience of Public Law children’s case, known as “ Care Cases” which not infrequently result in children being permanently removed from their birth families and adopted, normally without the agreement of their parents. He explained how these decisions are possibly the gravest decisions which the Courts can still make since the absolution of the death penalty. Dealing with physical, sexual and psychological abuse involves extremely complex issues, frequently based on the conflicting evidence of leading medical and scientific experts in the country.
All these decisions at the senior level have to be made by the judge alone and, in answering students’ queries about the level of responsibility that judges carry on their shoulders when taking such decisions, Judge Cryan spoke of their subjective impact.
He also stressed the fact that these grave decisions have to be made in the context not only of the law of England and Wales, but also of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, with particular reference to Article 6 which regulates the fairness of the hearing and Article 8 which requires the Court and the State to have respect for the family life of all those before it.
The next applicants’ day takes place on February 20th, and students can book their place here. During their visit to Goldsmiths, our LLB Law applicants will have the opportunity to meet social media expert of leading thinktank ‘Demos’, Carl Miller, who will discuss Judges and Artificial Intelligence, drawing on his latest book on The Death of the Gods: The New Global Power Grab.